My Kryptonite by Kellie

My Kryptonite by Kellie - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

I walked into Algebra 1 the first day of 8th grade, quietly, only to be greeted by a “get to know you” sheet. I started filling out the stereotypical questions with ease. Favorite color? Easy, purple. Dream job? Detective. Then I arrived at a question that really made me think. “If you could have any superpower, what would it be?” I listened in on the conversations of the students around me. “I would totally want to be able to fly! Wait, no invisibility! Then I could pull pranks on my friends without them knowing!” I sat there stunned by their answer. Invisibility? Why would someone wish to not be seen by anyone? To have people not know they exist? I guess they don’t know what it’s really like.
All of middle school, I was alone. I sat in the front row, working diligently on my classwork by myself. I had very few friends due to my anxiety and shyness. I felt awful, as if I didn’t matter, like people didn’t notice me. Then, I was browsing online one day when I stumbled onto a website called 7cupsoftea. This website was dedicated to helping those who are struggling with different types of mental illnesses/social situations. I talked to these “listeners,” telling them my situation and they constantly reminded me I was not invisible and that someone was always there for me. After about three months of using this website, I slowly grew more confident. I started talking to people online and at school. I no longer felt alone. These listeners inspired me to assist others with their problems. I signed up to be a listener on 7cupsoftea and began my training courses. I would spend hours every night talking to members, helping them through personal issues such as anxiety, depression, suicide, abuse, and trauma. Through this, I met many teens experiencing a lot of the same situations I was. Boy, was I wrong about being alone. I spoke to Pascal, a boy who felt alone. He had severe social anxiety which lead to depression. He had no one there for him and just wanted to end his life. I stayed up until 5 am talking about how he isn’t alone and how he has people out there who care for him. We came to an agreement, he would not end his life, but rather would come and talk to me every day and we would work through his issues. I remember sitting in my room at 5 am thinking “this is what I want to do, I want to save people.” I felt like a superhero, I helped people realize their full potential in life, that they are loved, and that they are not alone. I talked to hundreds of people for at least 20 hours a week. Knowing that I made an impact on hundreds of people’s lives really made me happy. Through talking to them I became more aware of the problems in my life and I took action. I also noticed the problems around me. Too many people feel alone in this world, they have no one to talk to who they trust or who understand their struggles. I want to be able to be there for them and be their superhero.